RICHMOND, Ky. - Just one weekend remains in regular season play as the Eastern Kentucky University softball team welcomes the Bellarmine Knights to Gertrude Hood Field for their final ASUN series on Friday and Saturday.

The Colonels (34-14, 15-5 ASUN) hold a 2.0 game lead over second-place Central Arkansas in the Gold Division. A single win over the Knights secures at least a share of the division title with UCA needing a sweep in their series over North Alabama. Two wins on the weekend for the Colonels secures the Gold Division title outright.

EKU and Bellarmine met for a series earlier in the season with the Colonels tallying a dominant sweep of the Knights. The Colonels run ruled the Knights in game one, secured an 11-0 win in game two, and finished game three with another run rule win, outscoring Bellarmine 33-0 over the weekend.

Overall, the Colonels lead the series against Bellarmine at 13-1. The two schools split their first two meetings in 1993 before the Colonels racked up the previous twelve wins.

The series kicks off with a doubleheader on Friday at 11 AM and 1:30 PM. Senior Day will also be celebrated after game one on Friday with Lauren Narvaez and Bella Sanchez as the graduating Colonels.

All three games on the weekend will be available for streaming on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available on StatBroadcast.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS

Bellarmine (7-32, 2-19 ASUN) comes into the weekend after being swept in their previous two ASUN series by Lipscomb and North Alabama. However, the Knights secured a 6-1 victory over Northern Kentucky in a midweek matchup on Apr. 16, an opponent the Colonels fell to on a walk-off home run, 2-3.

Kelsie Houchens leads the Knights in the circle, making the most appearances at 13 and leading the pitching staff in ERA (4.20) and strikeouts (19). Ally Richardson has allowed only a .100 batting average for opponents this season, but has only made three appearances in the circle.

Madison Davis leads Bellarmine in batting average at .264 while Megan Konermann has the most RBIs with 12. Harlie Bickett records the highest slugging percentage (.358) and on-base percentage (.348) for the Knights.

LAST TIME OUT

The Colonels stormed back from a series-opening loss against North Alabama to sweep the doubleheader and take the series over UNA, 2-1, to put themselves in their current standing.

Maddi Rutan (16-8) and Victoria Byrum (12-3) both notched complete-game wins in the doubleheader as Rutan crossed the 200 mark in strikeouts on the season. Both pitchers also recorded six strikeouts in their winning appearances.

Lilly Davis had a big day, tallying three RBIs in both halves of the doubleheader. Makayla Mathis followed suit with three RBIs of her own in the first game and an RBI single in the second game.